Payne Kilbourn

About This Member:

Mr. Payne Kilbourn began his career in the United States Navy as the Commanding Officer of the attack submarine USS OMAHA in 1993. In 1995, he began serving as the Analyst and Action Officer for the Executive Staff to the Vice Chief of Naval Operations, where he handled hands-on public and Congressional relations for Naval Programs.

In 1997, Mr. Kilbourn became a Federal Executive Fellow for the Brookings Institution I Washington, DC, where he provided expertise in fields such as organizational dynamics, policy development and foreign affairs. He also authored an original monologue on US government processes.

Starting in 1998, Mr. Kilbourn was made the Director of the US Navy Liaison Office at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels. In Belgium, he served as the US Representative for Navy and Marine Corps standardization programs and instituted broad process improvement to reach international agreement on multinational operating procedures for naval forces.

Mr. Kilbourn returned to the United States in 2001 to serve as the Branch Head of Submarine Modernization Navy Staff at the Pentagon. While at the Pentagon, Mr. Kilbourn was Director of attack submarine systems modernization and capability enhancement. In addition to directing military and corporate teams to develop advanced systems, he set requirement for over $1 billion annually for sonar, weapons, sensors, communications, networks, navigation and related systems integration.

By 2004, Mr. Kilbourn retired from the US Navy and founded Unmanned Ocean Vehicles Inc. As President, he directed company development and marketing, attracting investment capital and a government grants. He directed the completion of company vehicle development and co-authored a patent for a high-tech unmanned autonomous marine vehicle.

Mr. Kilbourn worked as an independent consultant and writer from 2011-2013. During that period, he produced two short documentaries on the history and theories of climate science, published two novels, wrote the screenplay for an animated family film, and published nonfiction book on American governance. He also performed analysis of county finances for local elected officials and activist groups.

Since 2013, Mr. Kilbourn has served as President of BFree LLC., where he worked on new product design and development, and invented and developed a lightweight personal cart to enable bag-free shopping.

Mr. Kilbourn holds a B.S. from the U.S. Naval Academy in Naval Architecture, as well as an M.A. from George Washington University in Political Science (Legislative Affairs). He is certified to operate Naval Nuclear Power Plants.

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The CO2 Coalition was established in 2015 as a 501(c)(3) for the purpose of educating thought leaders, policy makers, and the public about the important contribution made by carbon dioxide to our lives and the economy.